Dummy!
by Nyx the Author
Summary: (An Alt!Power Taylor fic) Taylor's dead. Now there's a depressed ghost floating around looking for hugs. Disclaimer: I own nothing. Worm is owned by Wildbow and Undertale is owned by Toby Fox. Bless that annoying dog's heart for making that game.
1. I'm Simply Ghostly Darling

**Dummy!  
Chapter 1: I'm Simply Ghostly Darling**

 **Summary: Taylor's dead. Now there's a depressed ghost floating around looking for hugs.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. The cover art is made by Little-Noko, Worm is owned by Wildbow and Undertale is owned by Toby Fox. Bless that annoying dog's heart for making that game.**

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A locker opened.

A hand shoved Taylor forward. She saw a glimpse of her tormentors just as the door closed.

She screamed and screamed. She banged her hands against the wall.

If there had been a single person who cared for her at that moment in time, this story may have gone differently.

But no one came.

~D~

 _Tears flowed as Taylor looked up at the woman. "Aww, sweetie, are you okay?" Annette asked as Taylor hugged her leg. Taylor was embraced tightly as her mother shuffled around inside her purse. "There, there. It's just a scratch." A band-aid was placed on Taylor's cut, and a kiss placed upon her head. "See? Hugs really do make everything better." They sat there, just like that, for a few more minutes, basking in the sun._

 _A bell tolled in the distance, and Annette stood hurriedly. "Alright Taylor, back inside you go. Mommy has to get to work!" with a smile, Annette walked out the door._

That had been the last time Taylor had seen her mother.

 _~D~_

A limp form lay curled in the locker as the night chill permeated the small container. Bugs had chewed and pinched all over her, the feeble attempts at stopping them fading away as time passed on. She couldn't feel much. Her fingertips gone from scraped to raw to practically gone, unable to open the locker from within. An image of her father with his head in his hands filled her mind. A flicker of hope and determination appeared. With a final gasping breath, she called out one more time.

 ***HELP**

But no one came.

She felt herself sinking, and then everything went dark.

When a soul is drained, empty of determination, hope, and all that they hold dear, there is but an empty husk. Nothing left behind but one's identity. But, in nothing, there is the possibility of something. This soul in particular, had never felt the embrace of victory. But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that most people have long forgotten; things that require a smaller, more honest soul.

It hovered in stasis, unable to pass on, holding onto that final image of her father. A flash of light filled her vision, marking the moment her soul healed. What replaced her determination was hope, dust, and a pinch of magic.

Taylor blinked awake. The world around her seemed to shimmer, as if it wasn't quite there. A sense of depression filled her. "Oh..." she sighed as she looked down at herself. The putrid substances from the locker were gone, and she seemed to now be a shimmering white ghost. Not a translucent version of her normal self, but rather a stereotypical ghost, like a living sheet. "I guess I died..." she said again. "Wait, I feel alright..." she seemed to cheer up for a moment when she realized she was still physically in the world and picked up an empty soda can. "I hope I can change back." she dropped the can as a thought entered her head. Would she want to? Who would it affect? Her dad, maybe, but how could he worry about her safety if she was already dead?

Wait, who cares? Scratch that, why did _she_ care? No one wanted to help her, so all this was was another step in her meaningless life. After briefly trying to do any ghostly things, all she could do was change her shape slightly and go invisible. Yeah, it may be useful, but she was dead. ' _No one cares..._ ' the line repeated in her head like a mantra as Taylor absentmindedly drifted about, passing through a wall and onto the street by Winslow.

A car swerved around her as she drifted across several streets, tears dripping from her eyes. The cars simply went right through her as she absentmindedly turned intangible. The teardrops themselves were ghostly, unable to actually touch anything as they vanished into thin air.

What would happen when she returned home? Had her father even noticed her absence, so stuck in the memory of his wife's death? Emma and Sophia would be ecstatic. They could mess with her forever and ever, never worrying about her dying again. The tears flowed faster now, a steady dripping. She drifted through a startled homeless man, ignoring the shouts as he ran off screaming. Even random strangers were scared of her now. She might as well try to pass on, maybe a knife to the throat would d- she stopped as someone tapped her lightly. She turned to see a blonde girl looking at her sadly.

"What do you want?" Taylor spluttered through the tears. The girl had a small smile on her face, like a knowing mother. "Are you okay? You look new around here, and I was wondering if you needed help?" A look of hopefulness appeared on the teen's face.

The ghost sighed. "I don't know, I can't just go home, my Dad probably hasn't noticed I've been missing, and the worst thing is, I'm _dead_." Taylor seemed to sink slightly as the reality of the situation set in. Her body began fading. turning invisible. "I'm a disappointment. I should just go away..."

The blonde lunged forward, breaking Taylor out of her self loathing. "You aren't!" she cried, staring deeply into Taylor's eyes. "You're special in your own way, on the inside! If no one wants to be around you, then I'll be your friend!" Taylor went still. Flashes flew by in her mind. _Emma smiling, leaving for camp, Sophia, betrayal_ \- "My f-friend?" she whispered.

"Of course! You can stay at my place for now, and then tomorrow we can go look for your father and get this thing sorted out. I'll back you up against anyone who tries to stop us."

Taylor nodded hopefully. "I think I'd like that."

Tears filled her eyes as the blonde spoke. "Do you need a hug? Hugs make everything better."

Taylor floated forward remembering the one person in her life who used to say that. She began sobbing uncontrollably into the girl's shoulder. "There there." the teen said softly, patting her awkwardly. "I'm Lisa. What's your name?"

"T-Taylor..." she said.

"Well, Taylor, follow me!" the blonde cheered and began walking towards the Docks. For the first time since the locker, Taylor smiled.

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 **I just felt like writing a feel good wholesome story, you know? This won't be full of combat, mostly Napsta!Taylor floating around being nice to everyone and dealing with the current issues she has. There won't be any chapters past Leviathan. Well, maybe a few snippets of some Cauldron stuff and Scion, but not much after everyone gets settled. Read and review.**


	2. Friends?

Music floated around the room, echoing slightly as the ghost hummed softly. They stared around at the warehouse room silently, taking in every detail of where they would be staying for the night. "So? Do you like it?" Lisa asked cheerfully, gesturing to the small space.

Taylor stopped humming, turning to her slowly. "It's okay... You don't have to do this you know..."

Lisa's smile dimmed a bit. "What do you mean?"

Taylor shook her head. "You don't mean all this... I'm worthless... Why did you help me?"

Lisa's expression grew exasperated. "Because you deserve it! You've gone through so much, and not a single person has helped you! I know that much because I used to be in the same place that you are right now!"

"Oh... Thanks..." Taylor mumbled as she drifted to Lisa. She hugged Lisa softly, the girl blinking in surprise. "Why are you hugging me?" Lisa asked in surprise.

Taylor's expression seemed to change to fondness. "Because hugs make everything better." she said wisely.

Lisa smiled. "Well, I've got to be getting to bed now. Don't want to be tired tomorrow. See you Taylor!"

"See you." Taylor said. Once the door closed, she sighed and lay down on the bed. Her thought turned from Lisa to her own circumstances, contemplating her impact on the universe and reality as a whole. The world seemed to drift away, stars filling her mind as she let her imagination wander.

~D~

Lisa woke up with a yawn, rubbing her eyes sleepily. It had been a wild rush last night trying to keep that new Case 53 from becoming too depressed. They had a combination of intense bullying, the death of their mother, and a lack of trust in authority. Plus, her abilities made her invulnerable, plus if she joined the Undersiders she could help with infiltration. Her power had struck some kind of emotional landmine with the whole 'Hugs make everything better' line. Despite manipulating people being her literal job, something about this particular manipulation made her feel a bit guilty inside, like she had fibbed to a parent. She patted her face a bit to wake herself up as she marched down to the ghost's room. She pulled a smile across her face as she entered to keep Taylor's mind off her situation. "Rise and Shine! Today's a new day!" she said as she entered the room.

She stopped to see the ghost lying on the floor, eyes staring into nothingness. "Zzzzzzzzz..." She almost face palmed.

 _This ghost keeps saying 'z' out loud repeatedly, pretending to sleep. Is actually contemplating existence. Wonders why she even matters in the enormity of the universe, when so many others are more useful than her. Is uncomfortable being in the room, doesn't want to be rude to her new friend. Considering leaving just to prevent embarrassment-_

"Alright! That's enough of that!" she said, clapping her hands loudly. Sometimes her power was pretty sarcastic. The ghost darted upwards, startled by the loud sound. "Oh, hey Lisa..." the ghost muttered quietly. "How's it going?"

"I'm about to go wake up the others, then we're going to go out and have some fun, alright? I don't want you to be so hard on yourself, so I decided that going outside is better than you wallowing away in this room all day." she explained.

The ghost shuffled a bit. "Others?"

 _Recalls noticing other rooms, but didn't want to intrude or interrupt._

"Oh, didn't I mention them? The others staying here are Brian, Alec, and Rachel. They're lots of fun. C'mon!" she began pulling the ghost to the door that led out of the room.

"I don't want to interrupt..." she said softly.

Lisa sighed, turning to the ghost. "I'm your friend. That's what we do for each other. Now would you rather be dragged along and slow us down or join us and have fun?"

The answer was obvious, with a final dreary sigh, Taylor floated out of the room ahead of Lisa.

They entered the dining room just as Alec turned to look at them, and he proceeded to spit-take the huge mouth full of cereal he had in his mouth. "Wha- *cough* What the hell are you?" he coughed, looking at Taylor in surprise. Brian twitched in surprise, but didn't say anything at Lisa's frantic movements behind Taylor. Rachel glanced at the ghost and continued petting Brutus, keeping an eye on the ghost.

"Oh... I'm sorry... did I do something wrong?" she asked sadly.

"Wrong? You're a ghost!" Alec exclaimed. "What the hell? That's-" he cut himself off at Lisa's murderous expression.

"-Amazing!" Brian continued, trying to be polite. "Can you go invisible? Go through things?" he asked, trying to keep a conversation going.

"I'm amazing?" Taylor asked hopefully. A red blush appeared on her face, clearly visible against her white glow. "T-thanks... I guess I can go invisible, and no one's tried to hurt me yet... I think I can go through stuff." She thought for a moment. "Oh! I think I can do something else." Tears started pooling in her eyes, but this time they began falling upwards. They coalesced around her head and formed a top hat. "W-what do you think? I'll call it call it my dapper look."

Alec stared at the hat in confusion, then shrugged. "Clothing manifested via depression? I guess nothing else can surprise me today."

Brian gave a (slightly confused) thumbs up. "Nice job...?" Taylor smiled weakly.

Lisa was surprised at Taylor's change of personality, but then looked with her power.

 _Sadness and antisocial tendencies overruled by infatuation. Thinks Brian is hot. Thinks he's out of her league. Thinking about it lowers her confide-_

Lisa's eye twitched. Did this girl have to be so pessimistic all the time? At least she finally had a reaction that wasn't completely self deprecating. This would be fun to mess around with, and might even keep the ghostly girl around if she played it right.

"Anyway, this is Taylor, she's been having an awful few weeks, and recently had the worst day in her life." The other Undersiders understood the insinuation. _She had gotten her powers yesterday, don't push it_. "I let her stay here and then I thought we could all hang out together at the boardwalk today." She began typing at a ridiculous pace on her phone.

Brian frowned. "The Boardwalk? Won't she- no offense- attract attention that we don't need? Not to mention it could give away our actual identities..."

"I'm down. Chilling with an actual ghost? That's really cool. We can always ditch the place if anything happens. I'm sure this isn't going to be the weirdest thing that people have seen." Alec offered. "I also wanna find out what else she can make with her tears."

"I don't care what we do." Rachel said seriously, still eyeing Taylor weirdly.

 _Bitch is keeping a ten foot minimum distance from her. Taylor confuses her, and annoys the dogs. Doesn't know how to react._

Lisa flipped her phone shut. "Well, we're going. The Boss has some guys stationed the Boardwalk for us, so if anything happens they can get us out of there."

After a few seconds, Brian sighed. "Alright then, I'll go."

She grabbed Taylor by the shoulders and began moving towards the doorway. "Splendid! Let's get going!"

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Taylor Hebert: _Mover 3, Blaster 1 (Undergoing Review)_  
Taylor seems to have been permanently put into a ghost-like state upon her trigger. She can turn intangible, invisible, and her tears damage living organic beings, ignoring armor. Unlike other Case 53's, she retains all of her memories and has no visible sign of the tattoo either. She seems to be held in a state of depression by her powers and has an unusual sense of innocence about her, as if she can trust anyone. Her current location of residence is with the cape Tattletale of the Undersiders, who may have manipulated Taylor in order to use her powers for her own deeds. Taylor has been marked as mostly harmless, but depressed. It is unknown what would happen if she were pushed too far in this state, as with ghosts in novellas and superstitions, it is unknown whether she is able to die. Hugs are to be applied liberally to keep her happy.

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 **I hope I was able to properly show each of the Undersiders. I have issues keeping Lisa believable because her power ruins plot before it even happens.**


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